The Middle East has been a hotbed of conflict for decades, and it has inspired some of the most gripping and intense Middle East War Movies ever made. This article will take a closer look at the top Middle Eastern war movies of 2023. From action-packed dramas to historical epics, the list of movies will satisfy anyone who enjoys service-related action.
So get ready to explore the world of Middle Eastern war movies!
Middle East War Movies
1. WALTZ WITH BASHIR (2008)
- Directed by: Ari Folman
- Duration: 1h 30m
- Cast: Ari Folman and Ron Ben-Yishai.
One night in a bar, an old friend tells director Ari Folman about his nightmare. In it, he is hunted by 26 demonic dogs. Every night – always the same number of dogs. The two conclude that there must be a connection to their involvement in the first Lebanon war in the early 1980s. Ari is amazed that he has lost all memory of what happened back then. He decides to seek out old friends and comrades and, with their help, close this gap in his memory. The deeper he delves into the memories of others, the clearer his thoughts become and the past appears in surreal images.
2. TRIAGE (2009)
- Directed by: Danis Tanovic
- Duration: 1h 30m
- Cast: Colin Farrell and Christopher Lee.
The world’s burning trouble spots are their home. Wherever there is armed conflict, war photographers Mark ( Colin Farrell ) and David ( Jamie Sives ) are in the thick of it to document bloodshed, death, and suffering. But now David has had enough.
In the middle of the Kurdish border area, shortly before an offensive by Saddam’s troops, he leaves his best friend Mark behind. His first baby will soon be born and David just wants to go home. Mark stays and is wounded. When he finally arrives back in Dublin, he finds out that David has no sign of life. What happened and what is Mark keeping secret as he withdraws more and more into himself?
Triage was directed by the Oscar-winning director n/a for his anti-war film No Man’s Land.
3. MEMORIES ON STONE (2014)
- Directed by: Shawkat Amin Korki
- Duration: 1h 37m
- Cast: Hussein Hasan and Nazmi Kirik.
The Kurdish drama Memories on Stone tells of a film team’s difficulties making a feature film in northern Iraq after the war.
In Memories on Stone, two old friends Hussein ( Hussein Hasan ) and Alan ( Nazmi Kirik ) decide to make a film about the Kurdish genocide in Iraq at the end of the 1980s, the so-called “Anfal Operations”. Shooting a film in post-war Kurdistan is no picnic, however, because the two men who are willing to invest their last savings in this project repeatedly encounter prejudice and hostility – both in religious and social terms.
4. RESEBA – THE DARK WIND (2016)
- Directed by: Hussein Hassan Ali
- Duration: 1h 32m
- Cast: Rekish Shahbaz and Dimen Zandi.
Reseba – The Dark Wind tells the story of a Kurdish couple who are separated during the genocide and have to go through terrible things to get back together.
The Dark Wind (Rekish Shahbaz) and Pero (Dimen Zandi) are in love and live in Iraqi Kurdistan. However, the soon-to-be wedding becomes brutally distant when terrorists from the so-called Islamic State come to her village in the Shingal region. Many residents have lost their lives in the violence perpetrated by radical Islamists that is now spreading. Pero, on the other hand, is a pretty girl who becomes a slave and is sold.
Since Reko doesn’t want to give up on his true love, he does everything he can to track her down and ultimately finds her again in Syria. The two find protection in a refugee camp and there they even see the young couple’s families again. But Pero has been through terrible things and the traditional community does not understand her trauma.
5. GIRLS OF THE SUN (2018)
- Directed by: Eva Husson
- Duration: 1h 55m
- Cast: Golshifteh Farahani and Emmanuelle Bercot.
In the war film Girls of the Sun, a group of women want to liberate a Kurdish village.
A war reporter ( Julie Delpy ) travels through the Middle East. She meets a resistance fighter (Golshifteh Farahani). Together with other women, she tries to liberate a Kurdish village. Religious extremists have taken it before.
6. DEATH BEFORE DISHONOR (1987)
- Directed by: Terry Leonard
- Duration: 1h 31m
- Cast: Fred Dryer and Joseph Gian.
There is war in the Middle East, and the Arab Kingdom is on the verge of collapse. Captain Burns and his Marines are supposed to ensure the evacuation of their compatriots. But when an ambulance packed with dynamite equalizes and the US soldiers are kidnapped, tortured, and brutally killed, the retreat comes to an end. The US Marines strike back mercilessly!
7. ATTACK IS THE BEST DEFENSE (1984)
- Directed by: Willard Huyck
- Duration: 1h 34m
- Cast: George Dzundza and Eddie Murphy.
The soldier TM Landry is supposed to present a new miracle tank in Kuwait that the engineer Cooper built. However, the plans were foisted on the builder by the KGB and are full of errors. So it’s no wonder that everything goes wrong during the presentation.